Peony Jam
My neighbours just know. As soon as their peonies start to drop their petals in a wild tantrum, they swoop in and collect them for me. Bags and bags of fragrant peony petals start showing up on my back porch. They are all lovingly shaken out to give the bugs a chance to escape, then rinsed and stored. Some are used for this beautiful jam, while others are frozen so we can immerse ourselves in the sweet peony scents of summer even in the depths of winter.
Prepare your jam jars and lids by boiling them in a canning pot of hot water for ten minutes.
4 cups boiling water
1 cup fresh peony petals (and a few extras for the jam)
1 tsp lemon juice
4 cups sugar
1 pack of powdered pectin
Steep the peony petals in the boiling water for 2 hours. Strain the flowers out, but resist the temptation to squeeze them as they have a bitter aftertaste. Place your peony tea in a large pot on the stove and add the lemon juice and pectin. Bring it to a rolling boil that can’t be stirred down.
Add the sugar all at once and again bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute and then remove from the heat. Gently tear the remaining peony petals into strips and add to the jam. Skim any foam off the top of the jam. Scoop jam into the jars and seal lids tightly.
Place jars back in your canning pot and boil for 10 minutes.
Tips
You can freeze your peony petals for use in the winter.
The jam colour will depend entirely on the colour of the petals you used. If you only have white and light pink, feel free to add a few drops of natural food dye to your jam.
Jam will keep for up to a year unopened and for a month opened in the fridge.
Get more edible flower recipes in Taste Buds: A Field Guide to Cooking and Baking with Flowers